The golden rule in drafting is to never select based on need. Trades happen, rosters change. The teams that ignore areas of need and focus on the best player available are typically rewarded in the long run.
But what happens when we have basically no idea who the best players on the draft board are? The 2020 NBA Draft feels like it could be the most volatile draft in history with very little visual evidence to confirm the potential of a player — well, unless you’re a big fan of those hype videos of a guy shooting alone or dribbling past a folding chair.
Which is why we believe teams will draft for need more often than usual during the 2020 Draft. If it’s a coin flip between two prospects, maybe it makes more sense for a team to fill its need for, say, a point guard rather than add another body to, say, an overcrowded frontcourt.
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For this version of our NBA mock draft, we’ve highlighted where teams stand entering this strange and likely abbreviated offseason, and what their depth chart might suggest for needs. Our resident college hoops guru Robert Snyder is using that info to target a player — but we’ve also given Robbie Buckets the authority to say, "Ah, screw it, the Hornets need ANOTHER guard!” if it’s impossible to pass up the best player on the board.